He said other smartphones -- like Android-powered devices -- are leaving Apple in its dust

Apple isn't the only tech giant who can throw a few punches in the competitive smartphone ring: BlackBerry's CEO took a couple of shots at Apple recently, saying the iPhone is old news.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins told The Australian Financial Review that Apple's iPhone has been left behind during a storm of new smartphone releases (such as Android and BlackBerry 10 smartphones).

“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market...They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon," said Heins. "There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that.

“History repeats itself again I guess...the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”

Heins went on to say that his company's own BlackBerry 10 smartphones surpass the iPhone in one way especially -- multi-tasking. He said BB10 phones can run multiple apps much like a laptop while the iPhone seems to lack in that area.

“The point is that you can never stand still," said Heins. "It is true for us as well. Launching BB10 just put us on the starting grid of the wider mobile computing grand prix, and now we need to win it."

Last week, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, was bad-mouthing Google's Android on the eve of the Samsung Galaxy S IV release. He said three-quarters of iPhone users say they're "very satisfied" with their experience while only half of Android users say the same, and that Android's biggest problem is its "plain and simple" fragmentation. Apple, on the other hand, is responsible for both the software and hardware of an iPhone -- hence, Schiller says, the experience is more seamless.

"With their own data, only 16 percent of Android users are on year-old version of the operating system," said Schiller. "Over 50 percent are still on software that is two years old. A really big difference.

"And that extends to the news we are hearing this week that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is being rumored to ship with an OS that is nearly a year old. Customers will have to wait to get an update."

Clearly Apple is threatened by Android's smartphone dominance, and BlackBerry is likely hoping to be an innovator in the smartphone realm once again as well. BlackBerry launched its line of BlackBerry 10 (BB10) devices in January of this year. At that time, it revealed the BlackBerry Z10 and the Q10 phones.The Z10 finally came to the U.S. March 12 as AT&T began its presale for $199 (with a two-year contract). The phone actually ships March 22.

Heins is optimistic about BB10 bringing BlackBerry back to life, as he was recently quoted saying that Z10 sales in Europe were "encouraging." He also said customers were switching from other platforms to BB10.

Another boost to BlackBerry could be a possible purchase of the company by Lenovo, which has been rumored. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told French financial newspaper Les Echos that it could eventually buy BlackBerry, but it needs to review such a decision first.